This invention relates to a device for oral administration of liquid formulations. More particularly, the invention is directed to a pacifier-like device for dispensing a unit dose of a liquid nutrient or medication from a sealed cartridge into a hollow nipple for facile consumption by pediatric and geriatric patients.
Many medicines and nutrients are formulated as liquids for oral administration. Parents, nurses, and physicians are often challenged by the task of administering such liquids to newborns, infants, toddlers and even the elderly. The present invention was developed responsive to what has been perceived as the very significant need to facilitate oral drug delivery to these special patients.
It is known to use a modified pacifier to deliver a liquid to an infant. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,321 discloses a pacifier for delivery of a flavored gel to an infant through a nipple; U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,889,829 and 4,867,159 disclose pacifiers that can be filled with syrups and liquified medicines, respectively; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,824,561 and 3,426,755 disclose medicine feeders. Also, a dual-chambered container for delivery of a liquid medicament through a nipple is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,051, and a pacifier accommodating a porous medication container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,612,165.
Although liquid-dispensing pacifiers are known, many pacifiers are not well-suited for delivering unit doses of medicines or other liquid formulations. Measuring and administering the small volume (dose) of a liquid formulation presents a problem that often makes it difficult or inconvenient to use a pacifier-like delivery device for oral administration of medicines. A device configured to utilize a sealed cartridge containing a pre-measured volume of liquid medicine, nutrients, or the like would provide a significant improvement over known liquid-dispensing pacifiers. Not only would it simplify the task of dispensing orally administrable liquid formulations, but it would, as well, provide more accurate control of dosage levels.
According to the present invention, a pacifier-like device is provided for dispensing liquid formulations orally to patients who might resist efforts to administer oral dosage forms by typical oral dosing techniques. The device includes a hollow nipple, a hollow handle formed to include a cartridge-receiving cavity, a base trapped between the nipple and the handle and arranged to cover the mouth of the cavity, and a means for positioning liquid formulation-containing sealed cartridge inside the cavity of the hollow handle in liquid sealed contact with a port in the base, further cooperating with means for positioning and retaining (or locking) the cartridge in the device.
The device further includes means for conducting the liquid formulation from the sealed cartridge through the base into the hollow nipple to allow consumption of the liquid by a patient sucking on the nipple and means for puncturing or otherwise breaching the liquid formulation-containing sealed cartridge as it is positioned in contact with the base. The puncturing means can include the liquid conducting means, for example, a liquid transfer conduit extending through a port formed in the base.
Illustratively, either pre-filled sealed cartridges or cartridges filled by a parent and sealed prior to use are conveniently used in the improved pacifier. Such a pre-filled or refillable liquid formulation-containing sealed cartridge is positioned and retained in a fluid-sealed relationship with the liquid conducting means and the base. Advantageously, the cartridge-puncturing means cooperates with the cartridge-locking means to puncture the sealed cartridge as it is locked in place to the base.
In preferred embodiments, the liquid transfer conduit is a tubular member having one obliquely cut (pointed) open end for puncturing the sealed cartridge to communicate with liquid formulation contained in the cartridge and an opposite open end for discharging liquid formulation transferred from the punctured cartridge into the hollow nipple. The sealed cartridge includes a container having an orifice and a closure member for the container in fluid-sealing contact with the container orifice. The pointed open end of the liquid transfer conduit is arranged to puncture the closure member and extend into the container as the sealed cartridge is positioned in the pacifier device.
The puncturing means further includes means for mechanically locking the sealed cartridge to the base to hold the cartridge in a fixed position inside the cavity formed in the hollow handle. Illustratively, the locking means includes a cartridge holder having a housing for receiving the sealed cartridge and a turn-to-lock locking flange appended to the housing. The base is formed to include a slot for receiving the turn-to-lock locking flange. As the cartridge holder is locked into the base, the pointed end of the liquid transfer conduit punctures the closure of the sealed cartridge to establish fluid communication between the liquid-containing cartridge and the hollow nipple.
Advantageously, it is most convenient to load the present pacifier device with a pre-filled liquid formulation-containing cartridge for delivery to a patient. Further, it is a simple task to replace an empty cartridge with a new cartridge each time a liquid formulation dose is to be administered. It will be understood that the improved delivery device of the present invention may be adapted for in veterinary science applications for dispensing liquid formulations to animals.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.